A home away from Rome

He had visited Bengaluru in the early 90s and when an opportunity to settle down here came knocking last year, Chef Armando Di Filippo welcomed it with open arms. The Chef de Cuisine - Italian of Movenpick Hotel & Spa Bangalore hails from Rome, Italy and his father was also a chef thanks to which, he picked up an interest for the culinary arts at a young age. The family had shifted to Montreal, Canada, due to his father’s work when he was a boy. “When we shifted back to Italy later, my father decided to open a restaurant and that’s how my culinary experience began,” he recalls. “Whenever I would get some time off studies, I would go to the restaurant and cook. It was a typical old restaurant that served rustic Italian food and had a fireplace in the centre. I learnt to make many basic things like fresh pasta and grilled meat over there,” he says.

After finishing school, Armando started working in various pizzerias and bakeries and it was during this time that he met his wife, Barbara. He also recalls having visited Bengaluru back then. “We follow Sai Baba so I had come to work in the Puttaparthi canteen. Bengaluru was a calm city back then. The only happening places were MG Road (without the Metro) and the airport,” he laughs.

So last year, when he got a job opportunity in the City, he was more than excited not only due to his earlier tryst with the City but also because his mother was also staying here. “I worked in Toscano for a few months. But I wanted to work in a hotel, so when I got the chance to work with Movenpick, I took it up,” he says. Soon, Barbara and his children — Noemi (13) and Lorenzo (11) — followed. “I enjoy new experiences and when this opportunity came along, I thought why not,” says Barbara.

The family likes to explore the City in its free time. “We usually come to Brigade Road and Commercial Street,” says Armando to which Barbara adds, “I like going to the different malls like Orion Mall and shopping for branded clothes.”

According to Armando, the cultures of India and Italy are very similar. “Like Italians, Indians also like to stay with their family. Also, friendship is one of the most important relationships in Italy,” he says. The cuisines, with their gravies and vegetables, are similar too as he points out, “Seventy five per cent of our cuisine is also vegetarian. We use a lot of zucchini, broccoli, parsley and fresh lettuce in our meals. Italy is also famous for its tomatoes. We have around 40 types of tomatoes and the one you use for a sauce is different from the one that is used for pickles or salads. It’s basically like the variety of mangoes that you have over here.”

Is the Italian cuisine available in Bengaluru authentic? “Actually, we have only eaten at places that have an Italian chef. So far, it has been authentic,” he laughs. Barbara enjoys her share of Indian food. “I like ‘dosa’, ‘chicken biryani’, ‘mutton biryani’ and ‘chicken tandoori’. But I don’t like too much spice also,” she notes. Though she loves the sari, she hasn’t tried wearing one yet. “I feel I may not be comfortable in it,” she laughs.

Does the traffic in the City bother them? “Actually, it’s much lesser than that of Rome. Over there, it’s impossible to move, especially in the mornings. Even the weather here is like spring always. It’s more extreme in Rome,” says Armando.

The couple feels Bengaluru is a “growing business City” and that’s why it’s a great place for their children, who study in Orchids – The International School. Thirteen-year-old Noemi loves her school and friends. “I have many friends and a lot of them are Indians,” she says. On being asked what she likes to do in her free time, she says, “I like drawing and dancing. I even studied classical ballet for nine years and am presently looking for a teacher here.” Happy with their stay in the City, Barbara sums up their experience saying, “I hope we stay here for many more years to come.”